Split and Strike!
by DoomaWriter
Summary: Teamwork among the genins isn't what it should be. So Kakashi comes up with the idea to switch up the teams for a month. Read and Review.
1. The Decision! Kakashi's Unusual Request

Split and Strike! by DoomaWriter  
  
Author's notes: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, trademarks, etc. All I own is manga and an ungodly amount of free time. This story is PG-13 for any possible violence or mild language that may appear later.  
  
---  
  
Chapter 1: The Decision! Kakashi's Unusual Request.  
  
---  
  
A brand new day in Konoha and Naruto had just finished his breakfast and now found himself walking down the street. Not after long, he saw Sasuke calmly walking some distance in front of him, despite the fact that Naruto's eyes were closed. Naruto quickened his pace until he was side by side with his partner.  
  
Sasuke greeted him with a suspicious look. Naruto slowed a little but continued to walk fast enough to pass Sasuke. Seeing this, the Uchiha descendant began walking slightly faster, regaining his place in front of Naruto. He gave a small inward smile before seeing Naruto passing by. "How selfish," he said with a smile. "I for one, don't want to keep Kakashi- sensei waiting."  
  
The boy in blue squinted at Naruto who seriously stared right back. After a moment of locking eyes, the two rivals turned forward and ran at full speed.  
  
---  
  
Sakura arrived at the spot the teacher had told Team 7 to meet at this morning. To her surprise, she saw that both her team mates were there and gasping for air. "Ha!" Naruto yelled in between breathes. "I made it first!"  
  
"Whatever," Sasuke said calmly, also breathing heavily. "What a stupid way to waste time. I can't believe I let myself go down to your level."  
  
"What was that!?!?" Naruto yelled, bringing up a fist. "Damn you!! You're always trying to make me look bad!"  
  
Sasuke scoffed. "I don't have to try to make you look bad." As soon as his words were through, the two found each other staring until sparks began to fly from their eyes.  
  
Meanwhile, Sakura just stood, clueless of what was going on. "Uh.....I have to start getting here earlier."  
  
---  
  
Time passed, yet their faithful teacher arrived....two and a half hours later than planned. Out of a puff of smoke, Kakashi smiled and raised a hand. "Yo.. I was on time but then I found inspiration and wrote a poem."  
  
Sakura and Naruto both pointed and yelled, "LIAR!!!"  
  
"Where is this poem?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Eh, Kakashi-sensei?"  
  
The Jounin's single visible eye looked to the left, then the right, "Um...It was lost in the cluttered filing cabinet of life." The four stood in silence as a gust of wind blew by. To continue, Kakashi cleared his throat and then added, "So, are we all ready for today's mission?"  
  
"What's the point!?" Naruto complained. "All of our missions are too easy! I want something harder!! Cutting grass, arranging library book shelves, cleaning windows!! What's next, baby sitting?"  
  
Kakashi held up a piece of paper and said, "Funny you should mention that-"  
  
"Baka," Sasuke interrupted. Though he looked off to the side, it was obvious to whom he was speaking to. "You fail at missions over and over and then complain that they're too easy. You really are an idiot."  
  
"How could you be so rude to Sasuke-kun, Naruto?" Sakura jumped in. "You know he helps you out on every mission." Those were the words she said on the outside, but in her mind it was more along the lines of, 'He friggin' saves your ass, dammit! Shaannaro!' Sakura turned to face their teacher and said, "Isn't that right, Kakashi-sensei?"  
  
"Hmm?" Kakashi asked, turning his attention to her. He had tuned them all out and was squatting down, reading a small book with the words "Make Out Paradise" on the cover. "Oh, are you all finished?"  
  
The three kids were forced silent once again by their teacher's actions. Happy that the bickering had ended early today, Kakashi stood up and raised the piece of paper. "Now, about our mission. Why don't we get started?"  
  
---  
  
Three hours later, Kakashi led his students on their journey back from the mission. Sakura was walking with a sense of self-satisfaction at a job well done. Naruto, as usual, wasn't as lucky. His clothes were covered in food pastes and apple sauce while his face had random doodles, including the word "Smelly" on his forehead. Naruto was exhausted and walked while being propped up by Sasuke. "You over did it again," Sasuke said. "Only you could mess up a simple baby sitting assignment."  
  
"I made up for it," Naruto said quietly, too tired to yell. "It took a while but I found all three of the toddlers."  
  
Sakura looked back at him with curiosity on her face. "Weren't there five of them?"  
  
A look of dread jumped onto Naruto's face. Seeing this, Sasuke just sighed and said, "I found the other two while you were out losing the first three. I hid them so that you wouldn't be able to screw the mission up again."  
  
Naruto frowned. He was starting to look bad again. Not only that but Sakura and Kakashi were kept busy keeping the children from attacking him, meaning that Naruto was actually an added problem on the mission.  
  
"And then I changed their diapers," Sasuke continued. "Fed them, burped them, kept them from putting-"  
  
"That's enough," Kakashi said as he turned to face the three. "I think he gets the point. Well, that was all that was left for today. I have to go file a report. See ya." And with another puff of smoke he was gone.  
  
---  
  
"What's the meaning of this?" Kurenai asked. She found herself in a room with Asuma and Gai, all wondering on why the teachers had been assembled in the circular lounge. Actually they had been assembled much earlier, this was the time Kakashi actually arrived.  
  
"To be honest," Kakashi said, "I've been noticing a lack in team workmanship among the rookies." After hearing this, Kurenai and Asuma both sat down on nearby couches.  
  
"You're right," Asuma said with cigarette in mouth. "All of my students seem pretty self-centered. Choji would rather eat than train and Shikamaru thinks every one of his team mate's ideas suck."  
  
"My team could use some help as well," Kurenai agreed.  
  
"Not mine," Gai said with a big smile. "My team's perfect!" He stood proudly among the other three teachers.  
  
"Um..." Kakashi said casually. "Why are you here? I don't remember inviting- "  
  
"So what's the point of all this?" Gai asked quickly.  
  
"I think that it would do all of those children some good if we split them into new teams. Not permanent of course, just long enough for them to realize how important their real partners are to them."  
  
The teachers looked to each other and thought deeply on the decision. They didn't have to worry about revealing any techniques because technically none of the genins were enemies from another village. "Alright, I'm in," Asuma said with his eyes closed.  
  
"So am I," Kurenai agreed.  
  
"Though you are my eternal rival, do not worry," Gai said with confidence. "I shall lend my students to your cause!" He couldn't pass up a chance like this. If Kakashi received any of Gai's children, he'd know of his own inferiority. A mental picture of Kakashi worshipping Lee and his superior instructor came to mind. Not only that, but if Gai were to get one of Kakashi's students, he'd be able to work them to extremes only Gai's wonderful team could stand.  
  
"Oh?" Kakashi replied. "Are you still here?"  
  
The super fuzzy eyebrows instructor looked away and bit his lip in anger. "Well played, Kakashi!"  
  
---  
  
At noon the next day, the twelve genins stood in a room which was completely empty except for a board with the numbers one through twelve written and grouped in threes. Above each number were vertical lines which came together and formed one line that led to a written instructor's name. The only other thing in the room was a long box, about four feet tall.  
  
With a large puff of smoke, three figures made their entrance. All greeting the students.  
  
"Asuma-sensei?" Shikamaru asked upon seeing his teacher. Ino was busy staring at Sasuke while Choji's mouth was being stuffed with chips.  
  
"Kurenai-sensei, what is this?" Kiba asked with Shino on his left and Hinata on his right. His dog, Akamaru seemed that he, too, wanted to know.  
  
"Oi!! GAI-SENSEI!!! Great entrance!!" Lee cheered. Neiji sighed and Tenten had grown used to Lee's overreacting.  
  
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura remained silent.  
  
"I'm sure all of you children in the spring time of your lives are wondering the same thing," Gai began. "For the next month, you will all be split into new groups with new partners."  
  
The children gasped in shock. "New teams?" Shikamaru asked. "Geez, this sucks."  
  
Sakura looked to the floor. Why was this happening? Being on the same team as Sasuke had been the greatest thing that had ever happened to her. What evil was behind all this?  
  
A puff of smoke appeared. "Yo," Kakashi greeted. "So what did I miss?"  
  
To be continued...  
  
---  
  
Author's notes: Alright, chapter one is up! If you liked it, please feel free to review. Knowing you guys are out there will help me update faster. You have the power! 


	2. Why Them? The Teams Have Been Decided

Split and Strike by DoomaWriter  
  
Author's notes: Wow, you guys really came through with the reviews! I am thankful to all of you who took the time to tell me what you think And to stay true to my words, here's the next chapter, earlier than planned.  
  
---  
  
Chapter 2: Why Them!? The Teams Have Been Decided.  
  
---  
  
Most of the young ninjas looked from one to another as if they would find one among them with a clue as to what was going on. Sasuke, who was on the farthest left, turned his head to peer down the row. Though he remained calm on the outside, there were a few people who he wouldn't mind being teamed up with. 'A chance to see the strongest fighters in action.' he thought. 'It'd be interesting to be paired up with Lee or that Neiji.'  
  
Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted as he saw Sakura's hand go up, and a somewhat stern look on her face. "Why must we be split up like this? What's the point?" There was a hint of distress in her voice.  
  
"Good question," Kakashi said. Turning his attention to the twelve, he added, "As you know, as a ninja, you'll be going on a variety of missions. Yet, it'll be rare that you'll be able to pick who you're partnered up with. You won't have the luxury of getting to know your teammate and all of his techniques. Sometimes you may be paired up with someone who's a lot better than you..."  
  
Upon hearing these words, quite a few genins glanced quickly at Sasuke, Neiji, or Lee. Meanwhile, those three kept their focus on Kakashi who continued to say, "and sometimes your partner can be a complete idiot." Upon hearing those words, Naruto grinned and directed his attention to Sasuke but was alarmed to see the Uchiha smiling and glancing right back at him with a smug look of superiority.  
  
Sensing the loudmouth ninja was about to explode, Sasuke said, "Don't get angry at me, look around." Naruto did so and found ten more stares dropped on him. Growing angry, Naruto faced Kakashi again, noticing the jounin's eye quickly moving up as if he had been staring with the kids as well.  
  
"So," Kakashi continued to break the awkward moment, "this unique from of training will help prepare you for the chance of such a situation."  
  
"But for a whole month!?" Sakura complained.  
  
"You never know when you'll be stuck with no clear way out for an extended period of time. This will also help for such a situation. So, is everything clear?"  
  
Naruto nodded his head confidently while in the inside he had no clue what was going on. The explanation was too long. It was probably best for him to just pretend that he did and have Sakura explain it to him again later.  
  
Gai couldn't help but smile. 'Very clever,' he thought. 'If I hadn't listened to the plan, I would've believed that speech as well, my rival.'  
  
"You will all form a line," Kurenai said, signaling that Kakashi was finished, "and reach into this box." She moved her hand to the four foot box which stood beside her. "There are twelve balls, pick one and return to your spot. Which one you pick will determine who's on your team."  
  
As the students stepped forward, one by one they felt themselves being shoved out of the way. Naruto had rushed to the front of the line, bumping several to do so. Especially Sasuke who had his hand inside the box when Naruto had eagerly pushed him out of balance and to the floor. The blonde placed his hand into the box and began searching anxiously, unaware of the many angry genins behind him. His arm moved back and forth into the slot that was just big enough to fit a small arm through.  
  
"All of them are pretty much the same," Kurenai told him. "There's no need to pick so carefully."  
  
"I have to get the best one," Naruto replied. "The one that was made for me!"  
  
"But they're all exactly the sa-"  
  
"FOUND IT!" Naruto exclaimed. He pulled out his arm and looked to see what his number was. "Hey! What is this?!" Showing the ball to Kakashi, he asked, "Why isn't there a number on this one!?"  
  
"You'll find out soon enough," Kakashi said calmly. "Now return and wait for the others."  
  
---  
  
Shikamaru was the last to pull out his blank sphere. Rushing was just a waste of energy to him. This time, Asuma stepped up to speak, moving his cigarette from his mouth and stroking his beard. "To keep the teams a mystery to the very end, we've hidden them with our own chakra. I've hidden three, Kurenai-sensei hidden three, and the same with Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei. We will now remove our chakra one by one, revealing your new teams. First off is Kakashi's team. So if you will, Kakashi-sensei..."  
  
"Hmm?" Kakashi looked up. He had spent his time waiting by taking out his favorite book and reading it, crouched down. Not bothering to stand up or take his eyes off of his literature, he raised a hand with his index and middle fingers up. With a slight release of chakra, the number one appeared on one of the balls. "Number one, step up."  
  
With a smirk, the first of the chosen ones stepped up and raised the ball so Asuma could read the number clearly. The teacher nodded and wrote the name on the board. "Number one...Uchiha Sasuke."  
  
All the students turned toward him in surprise, three of which immediately placed their hands together and started praying to be teamed up with him. Naruto looked at Sakura and saw her eyes closed and hands tightly together. "Hey, Sakura-chan..." he began, but his words were ignored. He sighed and thought, 'Always Sasuke....'  
  
Choji stopped throwing chips into his mouth and turned to Ino and thought what a disgrace it was, to be acting so desperately in public. But to his surprise, he turned to his other side to see Shikamaru doing the same thing. "Shikamaru?"  
  
"Don't be so shocked," Shikamaru replied. "Whoever's paired up with that elite genin won't have to worry about working so hard. He'll probably carry the whole team."  
  
'Right off the bat, huh?' Sasuke thought seriously. 'Well someone had to be first. Now, if only I can get some strong ninjas chosen as my partners.'  
  
Kakashi flipped a page and then returned his hand up and soon the second number was uncovered. "Ya-hoo! LUCKY! We've hit the jackpot, didn't we!?" The loud voice was followed by agreeing yips.  
  
"Number two," Asuma said as he wrote. "Inuzuka Kiba..." Hearing a few angry barks and then growling, Asuma said, "I mean, Kiba and Akamaru."  
  
Ino and Sakura stared at the blank section under "3" on the board and then continued to pray even harder. So much that the people closest to them could actually feel their chakra growing and took a few steps back. With another move, Kakashi revealed the last member of the first team. "YATTA!! I'm with Sasuke-kun! Yes!"  
  
Sakura looked in horror as "Yamanaka Ino" was written in the last slot of the new Kakashi team. She stood hunched over with a perpetual look of ultimate despair on her face. Inner Sakura gave the exact same look. Wanting to cheer her up, Naruto reached for her shoulder but felt his hand being grabbed.  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sasuke told him. Moments later, Sasuke felt his other arm being pulled and found himself being forced away from his group. He looked back to see Ino with a big smile on her face.  
  
"You're on my team now, Sasuke-kun!" she said. "No need to be talking to nobodies with big foreheads." Then, Ino spoke to Sakura as if she didn't notice the pink-haired ninja was standing there. "Sakura-chan, did you hear? I'm on the same team as Sasuke-kun. Oops, I guess you were there when it happened, weren't you?" She then let out a hearty cackle.  
  
"INO-PIG!!" Sakura yelled, snapping back to reality and scaring half of the kids while doing so. "Get your hands off of Sasuke-kun or I'll rip them off!!" Inner Sakura lifted her fist and agreed, 'Shaanaro!'  
  
Still in their spots, Choji and Shikamaru stood looking on at the shameless display. "Geez," Shikamaru began. "Didn't even remember about us. There goes our InoShikaCho. This sucks."  
  
'Great' Sasuke thought to himself while still in Ino's clutches. 'Two losers.'  
  
"I will be the instructor of the second team," Asuma said, hoping to silence the mayhem. He gave the same hand seal and soon the fourth genin was exposed. "Step forward, Number 4." He saw a hand being raised and then scribbled the name. "Number 4...Haruno Sakura."  
  
"It doesn't matter who's on my team," Sakura told herself, "...now that I've lost Sasuke-kun."  
  
Asuma revealed the fifth ball and the chosen genin instantly stepped forward, full of confidence. Before Asuma could announce it, the picked student yelled it out for him. "Number 5 is the graceful genin in green: Rock Lee!"  
  
Swiftly spinning around, Sakura saw that it was true. Lee was now holding a ball with the number five. Actually, he was holding it straight at her and giving a smile which glinted. She shuddered. "Figures," Sakura said, holding back a tear.  
  
The last member of their team stepped up and showed their ball as proof. It was Tenten. Asuma nodded and wrote her name on the board, completing his team.  
  
"Now we'll find out who's on my new team," Kurenai said as she revealed the next student.  
  
"I see," Asuma said. "Number 7, Hyuga Neiji." Sasuke's eyes focused on him. Who'd be on his team?...Not Naruto!  
  
After a few moments, Asuma-sensei turned to Kurenai. "Show us the eighth now," he said.  
  
"I already did my part," she explained. "I don't know why they're not coming up."  
  
"Number eight is right here," Shikamaru said in a somewhat irritated manner. Apparently speaking was too much of a hassle. Especially if he wasn't talking for himself. "Stop eating for a second and speak up for yourself, would you?"  
  
Choji looked at his orb witch now had the number eight as well as grease from his fingers. "Oh, was there always a number here?"  
  
"What? Don't tell me you weren't paying attention to anything!" Shikamaru whined.  
  
Clearing his throat, Asuma wrote down the name and said, "Number eight, Akimichi Choji." Neiji didn't bother to even glance at the weakling.  
  
The last picked member of the team held their hand up a bit slowly. Kurenai gave a comforting smile to the familiar face. Asuma said, "Number 9, Hyuga Hinata."  
  
Naruto, who was growing very impatient of the waiting, peered over to Hinata with his usual closed-eyed glance. When she noticed him, she turned away and looked at her fingers in front of her. Naruto couldn't help but notice that she looked a little upset about something. Of course, what it could be was beyond him.  
  
However, there was another looking at Hinata. Neiji had been staring at her since the name was called. It was obvious that he was angry. Very obvious. It looked like destiny had a sense of humor.  
  
"Well, no need to waste any time calling out numbers," Gai said displaying his seal. The last three genin's numbers appeared as Asuma finished writing the team members.  
  
" Gai's team: Number 10, Aburame Shino. Number 11, Nara Shikamaru, and the Number 12, Uzumaki Naruto."  
  
"Hey," Naruto said, looking at his ball. "How'd he know who was on the last team?"  
  
"Baka," Shikamaru responded. "We're the only one's left." Glancing upon Naruto's number, Shikamaru smiled and said, "So you're dead last? I guess that number really was made for you." Naruto gave a stare of death and as he opened his mouth to argue, Shikamaru added, "I wanted a good partner like Sasuke and I end up with such a bothersome person like you? This sucks."  
  
"The teams have been decided," Kakashi said, closing his book to give his full attention. "Return the balls to the bin and you may go. Take the rest of the day off to get acquainted with your new partners..or in some cases, hide from them."  
  
"We're going to get real acquainted, right Sasuke-kun?" Ino said as she grabbed the reluctant Sasuke's arm. Kiba kept trying to remind her that he was her new partner as well but there was no reaching her. He just frowned as Akamaru tried to lift his spirits by licking his master's forehead.  
  
One by one the students left, which showed their reluctance to stick with their new team members. As Tenten reached the doorway, she looked back to notice Lee had stayed behind. Knowing where this was going, she just shook her head and left. Lee stood, staring at Gai with wide eyes. "Gai- sensei...." he said weakly as tears began to flow.  
  
"Don't worry, Lee," Gai said as he began to tear up as well. "We must part ways now, but soon we shall be reunited and we'll find ourselves even stronger than before!"  
  
"Gai-sensei!" Lee said, wiping his face with the back of his hands. Finally he embraced his dear teacher in front of an imaginary sunset. The clouds turned orange as a wide ocean crashed upon the rock they stood upon. But back in reality, the other three Jounins were exchanging confused looks between one another. "Good-bye....Gai-sensei!!"  
  
"Until we meet again...my Lee!"  
  
---  
  
"So do you expect they know?" Kurenai asked as Kakashi picked up one of the spheres. "Were we really able to pull it off?"  
  
"I don't think they suspect anything," Kakashi answered, examining the object. He looked as the number "12" on the ball vanished in a puff of smoke. "No, they probably think that they were actually paired up randomly."  
  
"Quite a few interesting teams, wouldn't you say?" Asuma said, looking from one to the other. The other teachers made slight noises from under clenched mouths before finally bursting out in laughter. A few grabbed their sides while others tried to balance themselves on the box in the room. Asuma removed his cigarette after nearly choking.  
  
"All that garbage you said to convince them this was necessary!" Kurenai said, wiping away a tear from all the laughing. "You're terrible, Kakashi."  
  
After regaining his composure, Kakashi stretched his arms and then placed them in his pockets. He said, "This is going to be an interesting month indeed."  
  
--- 


	3. Well, it's a Start

Split and Strike by DoomaWriter  
  
Author's notes: Heh, looks like I'm getting mixed signals about the teams, eh? Well, that's no problem with me. With the variety of people out there, I would've gotten mixed replies no matter what. I'm just glad that everyone has an open mind. Unlike a certain pink-haired maiden who currently has me in a most-painful headlock. I hope you're all as anxious to see what happens next as I am.  
  
---  
  
Chapter 3: Well, it's a Start  
  
---  
  
The next morning, Sasuke wiped his eyes as he ventured toward the usual meeting place. He tried to wonder why Kakashi had asked the group to gather particularly early this day. The sky gave off an unusual color as the sun barely began to rise. A small, itchy thought moved in the back of Sasuke's head. There was something different about this day, yet he couldn't remember what.  
  
Everything came back to him as he felt an impact on his back and arms come down over his shoulders. He gave an annoyed glance to the side, looking out of the edge of his eyes. His sight was met with the smiling face of a very familiar blonde. "Ohayo, Sasuke-kun!" Ino greeted. "How are you this morning? Excited?"  
  
"Let go of me," Sasuke said bluntly. Ino released her hold and the two began walking side by side. With a sigh, Sasuke remembered how Sakura would act. She was annoying but at least she was a lot more shy and restrained. Ino was like Sakura but amplified. Trying to forget about her, Sasuke focused straight ahead and blocked everything else from his mind. This wouldn't be an easy month.  
  
'Me and Sasuke-kun, walking together!' Ino thought to herself, eyes closed, smile big. 'I knew I wouldn't lose to forehead-girl!' She opened her eyes to reassure that this was really happening. Her look turned to horror as she saw a grinning Kiba with his arm on Sasuke's shoulder and a dog on his head.  
  
"Oi, Sasuke!" Kiba began. "It looks like we both lucked out during the picking yesterday, ne?"  
  
Sasuke, not bothering to look at Kiba, just said, "Don't touch me."  
  
The hooded boy pulled his arm back and just figured that Sasuke wasn't a morning person. "Tch, what's with your sensei telling us to meet so early? I hope he doesn't pull this crap everyday!"  
  
'So loud.' Sasuke thought. 'Perfect. I could've been paired with some useful partners but what do I get? Amplified Sakura and Amplified Naruto. Let's just get this damn mission or whatever over with quickly.'  
  
---  
  
Kakashi arrived around noon. He gave a leisurely stretch and raised his hand, greeting the three. "Sorry," Kakashi said. "I had to take extra time to set up the rules for today's session." Ignoring Sasuke's skeptical look, Kakashi continued: "So, did everyone enjoy their time together this morning?" The second he finished his sentence, the jounin moved his head to the left, allowing a shuriken to fly by, inches from his face. "You could of just said 'no', Sasuke."  
  
The white-haired ninja reached into his pocket and pulled out a red kunai. He held it in front so that everyone could see. Smiling, he said, "We're going to begin with a simple training session, aimed at building up teamwork." With a swift flick of his wrist, Kakashi flung the kunai straight up. The weapon stuck into a tree branch, far above. "I will be guarding it. You may go around me or through me, whatever you have to do to obtain the target. You'll have one hour. Any questions?"  
  
It was around now Sasuke noticed that they stood upon the exact same place where he took his first test with the others. The forest area with a nearby lake and a few logs sticking out of the ground. "Are their anymore rules?" Sasuke asked.  
  
"No, that's it. Fight as light or hard as you want."  
  
"So you came here hours late because you were making such a simple training plan?"  
  
A sweat drop appeared on Kakashi's face. He smiled under his face mask and said, "Yup." A long period of awkward silence followed. A finger came up and scratched Kakashi's brow, "So...Let's begin." A familiar clock was set on one of the logs and the timer button was pressed.  
  
Sasuke couldn't help but close his eyes and smile. This was similar to their first training but there was a crucial difference. Experience. His eyes reopened to show that they were red with two black symbols in each one. The sharingan!  
  
The others were preparing themselves as well. Kiba grasped Akamaru and set the dog on the ground beside his foot. After a loud laugh, he asked, "Ready to show them what we're made of?" Akamaru barked in agreement. By this time, Ino had pulled out a shuriken in one hand to her side and a kunai in the other by her face. The four leaped off in separate directions, disappearing from Kakashi's sight.  
  
Calmly, the group's sensei placed a finger to his chin and thought to himself. 'Let's see, Sasuke's most likely going to hide and wait for an opening. Hmm, if Ino were wise, she'd do the same. The most likely to attack would be...'  
  
Bursting from the trees behind him, Kiba lunged down, straight toward the jounin's back. Without turning around, Kakashi grabbed his attacker's arms and spun the boy around to his front where he placed an arm around Kiba's neck as he hit the ground. Kakashi looked down at the confused individual and said, "Um, you do realize that I'm not the target, right?"  
  
Instead of answering, Kiba just smiled. Sensing something's wrong, Kakashi turned his attention to the kunai and saw someone running straight for it. Something wasn't right. The one running for the target was...Kiba? Looking back down at his captive, Kakashi asked, "You're not Kiba are you?" He was answered with a bark.  
  
Racing along the tree branch anxiously, Kiba couldn't help but to let out a loud laugh. His fingers were inches away from the goal and his new team leader was on the floor with the transformed Akamaru. Sasuke and Ino weren't even needed! His fingers were now...still inches away from the goal. In fact he didn't seem to be moving at all. Kiba felt a slight tug on his legs and looked back to see a familiar jounin grasping them.  
  
Kiba now found himself hanging upside down from high up with the only thing keeping him from falling was Kakashi's casual grip on his legs. "Not bad," Kakashi said. "I didn't expect such a strategy. If you weren't so loud, you might of actually succeeded." The upset genin could see that Akamaru was now tied to a log, the rope around his human neck and arms. "Good thing dogs always land on their feet." With that, Kakashi let go and Kiba plummeted.  
  
"That's cats!!!!" Kiba screamed as he fell through the air. He hit the ground hard enough to keep him down.  
  
Kakashi walked down the side of the tree slowly until the ground was close enough for him to hop off. "Oops. Guess you're right," Kakashi shrugged. He turned around and began walking a few yards. He stopped and leaned against the trunk of a tree. "You're all very sloppy," he said to himself.  
  
His hand seemingly went into the wood but pulled back to reveal that it was really a camouflage sheet with the now exposed Ino behind. The surprised genin chuckled weakly then started walking away cautiously. Suddenly, her face grew serious and she flashed a series of hand signs which ended with her hands together, index fingers up. Kakashi's eye shot open as he saw her take in a deep breath. "Katon! Ryuuga no Jutsu!"  
  
The fire shot forward and irrupted as it hit Kakashi, engulfing him in flames. Immediately, Ino hopped from one tree to the next until she was in reaching distance of the kunai. In the hurry she didn't notice the sound of a scorched log falling to the floor. Her fingers touched the bottom of the target, only to stop short as her body fell rapidly. Kakashi had managed to pull her down and the two landed on the ground unscathed.  
  
"I forgot you could do that," Kakashi began, "Sasuke-kun." Ino gave a smirk and a burst of smoked reverted Sasuke back to his true form. "Henge no Jutsu is a simple move, but its not one you use very often." It was a good move, but because Sasuke was too anxious, he wasn't able to keep his focus on both the target and his enemy.  
  
Meanwhile, within the bushes just a few feet behind Kakashi, Ino finally saw an opening. The jounin was focused on Sasuke and wouldn't be able to dodger her attack. She placed her hands together and raised her ring and index fingers, forming the bird seal. Whispering to herself, she said, "Ninpou. Shintenshin no Jutsu!" With that, her body fell limp.  
  
"I'm about to do something generous," Kakashi said to Sasuke, raising his hands. The Uchiha stepped back as a couple of hand seals was flashed in front of him. "I'm going to show your Sharingan a new move." Using his famous speed, Kakashi finished his signing and slapped Sasuke's forehead with his palm before disappearing and reappearing behind the genin. Though his Sharingan picked it all up, Sasuke was unable to move in time and found his arms being held back.  
  
"What is-," Sasuke started but his sentence was interrupted as his body felt a strange impact and then went limp. Kakashi let go, knowing that Ino's attack had hit the wrong target. After a moment, Sasuke's body stood back up. His eyes opened to reveal that the Sharingan had been dropped. He looked back at his sensei and then down at himself before horror struck his face. "Ah! I-I'm in Sasuke-kun's body!!"  
  
Kakashi would had laughed if he didn't know what was next. From out of the bushes came an even greater scream. It was Ino's voice but a different tone. "What's going on!?" Ino came rushing out of the bushes and stopped in front of the possessed Sasuke. "You're in my body!" she yelled. "And why am I in your's!?"  
  
"I don't know!" Ino said frantically with Sasuke's mouth. "Even though I missed Kakashi-sensei, you shouldn't be in my body!" The two realized what happened at the same time and glared at their teacher. That new move had somehow changed the effects of Ino's technique. Thinking quickly, Ino placed her hands together to cancel the jutsu. Unfortunately they were pulled apart and stretched at her sides. They were both tied by string which connected to sharingan impaling two parallel trees.  
  
"Not so fast," Kakashi said, leisurely walking forward. "That technique of her's will probably wear off in a few minutes...So I better do this quickly." His words were directed to the Sasuke possessed Ino. The wind seemed to pick up and a storm of leaves surrounded him. Sasuke started feeling dizzy. 'When he's in that body,' Kakashi thought, 'he can't summon the Sharingan to see through my genjutsu'."  
  
~~~  
  
Sasuke opened his eyes and regained his alertness. To his surprise, he was alone in the grassy area and back in his own body. Yet the clever genin knew better and said aloud, "You've failed this time. I can tell that this is genjutsu." He waited but the reply he was hoping for was not that of leader. Instead, he heard two voices in perfect harmony.  
  
"Nee kikoe masu ka?"  
  
Behind him, Sasuke saw a frightening sight. It was the sight of Sakura and Ino with abnormally large heads and synchronized movements. Things got from weird to worst as they began to sing and dance in unison. He nearly jumped out of his skin as he saw steams fly out of their heads as they chanted, "Terepashii." Sasuke fell to his knees and screamed.  
  
~~~  
  
"What did you do to Sasuke-kun!?" Ino asked, still tied to the trees.  
  
"Something I've been wanting to try for a long time," Kakashi answered. "Perhaps we should call this test off early?"  
  
To be continued...  
  
---  
  
Author's notes: Alright, before the lovers of Harmonia start a lynch mob, I'd just want to say that I liked that ending song, it's just that from a Sasuke point of view, I think it'd be pretty traumatizing. And before the Kakashi fans form a lynch mob, I'd like to point out that it's said that jounin copied over 1,000 techniques, so I can make up one here and there, right? Mmm, vagueness. 


	4. What a Way to Start! Asuma Team's Task

Split and Strike by DoomaWriter  
  
Author's notes: That's right! Contrary to public belief and popular demand, I'm not dead! And to celebrate my living to see another day, I present to you another Naruto fic. Sorry for the delay though. I wrote it a lot sooner but..um, I had to travel around the world to find myself. *Nudges Kakashi with his elbow*  
  
---  
  
Chapter 4: What a Way to Start! Asuma Team's Task.  
  
---  
  
While Team 7 were busy with their introductory training program, some distance across the village, Sakura was sitting with her new partners. She was thankful that Tenten was sitting in the middle, keeping Lee at a somewhat distance. The pink-haired girl was still recovering from the fact that she was leaving Sasuke alone with Ino (Kiba didn't exist to her at the moment).  
  
"Cheer up, Sakura-san," Lee said. He turned to her with a big smile, branded a thumb's up and added, "Though we can't replace your comrades, I'm sure you'll grow to love this team!" To seal the deal, he winked at her and a floating heart rushed towards her.  
  
In a panic, Sakura grabbed the closest thing she could find to block the oncoming projectile. The closest thing happening to be Tenten. Thinking quickly, Tenten lifted a small sickle from her pouch and sliced the projectile in half. "Watch where you're aiming those things!" both girls warned. Lee sighed and hung his head.  
  
Shortly afterwards, Asuma came sauntering by with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He studied his new students before putting a hand on Lee's shoulder. "Looks like you hit the jackpot, eh?" he said with a smile. Before Lee could ask what that comment meant, his new teacher introduced himself.  
  
"I'm Asuma. And for today, I want everyone to get to know each other. To start things off, I'll see if I've got your names down." He pointed to one of the girls, "Pink-hair, you're name's Haruno Sakura, right?" When his target nodded in agreement, he moved his finger passed Tenten and said, "You with the eyebrows - you're Rock Lee?" Lee answered with an annoyed frown. Then Asuma moved on to his center target. "And you're...um...That's odd. Do you live in this village?"  
  
"My name's Tenten from Gai-sensei's team," Tenten said.  
  
"Hmm..." Asuma said to himself as he scratched his head. "Sorry, I guess I don't notice filler characters that well."  
  
"Filler!?"  
  
"Anyway, two out of three isn't bad," Asuma said, addressing the whole team. "Now, spend the rest of the day getting acquainted. Talk about likes, dislikes, whatever. If you need me, I'll be in a hammock over-"  
  
"Wait a second!" Lee interrupted. "I already know everything about Sakura- san and Tenten!"  
  
Asuma closed his eyes and chuckled lightly. "You weren't on Sakura's team were you? I'm sure there's something you don't know about her."  
  
Upon hearing this challenge, the genin in green whipped out a small notebook and flipped a few pages. "Name: Haruno Sakura. Hair: Pink. Eyes: Green. Team Number: Seven. Chakra Control: Exceptional. Unique Jutsu: ....Hmm, I have this part blank." He turned to Sakura and asked, "What is your unique jutsu?"  
  
Still creeped out by the log Lee was keeping, Sakura turned away and pouted to herself. Asuma exhaled another puff and then excepted defeat. "Well congratulations, kid. You've got today off then. But I still want Sakura and Renren to-"  
  
"It's Tenten!" Lee's partner complained.  
  
"This isn't much of a professional way to start, " Lee grumbled to himself.  
  
Overhearing, Asuma grew a little agitated. "Hey, it's this or you can run laps. It's your choice."  
  
"Really!?" Lee asked happily.  
  
Misinterpreting the reply, the smoker said, "Keep making me mad and I'll have you run ten laps around the village."  
  
Lee frowned. "Only ten? I suppose it'll have to do."  
  
"You want me to raise it to twenty?"  
  
"Yes." Lee admitted seriously.  
  
Biting through his cigarette, Asuma said, "You've just won yourself forty laps, wise guy! Do you have anything else you'd like to say!?"  
  
"Well, can you please not give me second-hand smoke? It's a bad habit which can lead to cancer in the lungs, mouth-"  
  
"A hundred laps!" Asuma shouted. "I want to see you do a hundred!"  
  
---  
  
Diligently doing his duties as a teacher, Asuma rested lazily while his new pupils were off. "I can't believe I actually let that kid get to me," he said while becoming more and more drowsy. "It may be tougher than I thought to withstand being with those two for a month."  
  
---  
  
A few hours went by and the young, female nins were cursing how large Konoha was. Every time she went by them, Sakura would glance over at the other teams to see how they were holding up. Of course the only one she cared about was the one with Sasuke in it. She picked up bits of the conversation while passing once and it seemed that Kakashi had finished giving some lecture on teamwork.  
  
All three sat on the grass and none of them seemed to of taken the speech very seriously. Kiba rested on his back while Akamaru went off to sniff some of the nearby trees. Focusing her attention elsewhere, Sakura saw Ino speaking to Sasuke and began running a little closer to the two.  
  
"Hey, Sasuke-kun," Ino said. "I couldn't help but notice earlier that your skin was very soft. Softer than mine. What type of lotion do you use?"  
  
Kiba didn't try to hide his laughing at all while Sasuke turned his face while blushing. Sakura, wondering how Ino came in contact with Sasuke's body didn't notice how close she was running and tripped over Kiba, her knee coming in contact with his cheek.  
  
"Oi, oi! Watch what your doing!" Kiba complained as he got back up and rubbed his face.  
  
"Ino-pig!" Sakura shouted. "What have you been doing to Sasuke-kun!?"  
  
Ino smirked, closed her eyes, and said, "What this team does is no concern of you or your forehead." Pretending Sakura wasn't there, she turned to Sasuke and asked, "Some people are such paranoid nuisances, ne, Sasuke- kun?" Opening her eyes, Ino spotted Sasuke running in the distance. "Oi, Sasuke-kun! Where are you going? Wait for me!"  
  
"Don't follow me!" Sasuke yelled while picking up the pace. Ino stood up, brushed a few leaves from her backside and gave chase. Sakura wasn't far behind as she forgot about both her training punishment and the fact that she was supposed to be suffering from fatigue.  
  
"Why do they keep ignoring me?" Kiba asked. His fateful pet consoled him with a lick on the nose.  
  
"I don't think she's coming back," Tenten said as Lee ran beside her. She noticed that his breathing didn't show any signs of tiring. "Gee, Lee, it looks like you won't break a sweat by the time you finish your laps."  
  
"The laps?" Lee repeated. "I finished my first one hundred long ago. Now I'm aiming for five-hundred!"  
  
Nearly falling down, Tenten said, "Even without Gai-sensei, you're still crazy."  
  
"If I don't finish five-hundred laps, then Sakura-san'll finally return my love!" Lee said, gripping his fist.  
  
"Did she tell you that?"  
  
"No, but I'm sure she'll love me when I tell her!"  
  
---  
  
The sun had set and the three partners met up once again. Asuma stretched his arms and gave out a long yawn. "So everyone finished their hundred?"  
  
"I finished five hundred!" Lee said with a big grin.  
  
Asuma's eyebrows shot up. "Good work, Lee." He began to wonder what the hell did Gai do to this one.  
  
"It was hard but I finished," Tenten said.  
  
"Good work......you."  
  
Sakura began to sweat. "Er...I....didn't really finish my laps. I stopped somewhere in the twenties."  
  
Asuma shrugged. "Eh, good enough." As soon as he finished speaking, Tenten fell to the floor.  
  
"I did four-hundred more," Lee explained as if someone had asked, "for Sakura-san!"  
  
"Five-hundred laps..." Sakura began. "That's just unnecessarily insane."  
  
Lee let out a heavy sigh. "I should've known..."  
  
To be continued...  
  
---  
  
Author's notes: All right, how about a deal? Since I like you readers so much, I'll let you decide which new team the next chapter will focus on. Your choices are Kurenai's team (Neji, Hinata, Choji) and Gai's team (Naruto, Shikamaru, Shino). We'll get back to the others later. So, it's up to you, choose carefully...Or recklessly, whichever works for you. 


	5. What the Hell is This? The Start of Gai'...

Split and Strike

by DoomaWriter

Author's notes: Sorry for the wait everybody! Thanks for hanging in there...those of you who hung in there that is. And I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. Tallying in the votes, it appears more people wanted to see Gai's new team next. Well, here it is!

---

Chapter 5: What the Hell is This!? The Start of Gai's New Team!

---

"It's like talking to a brick wall," Shikamaru said tiredly. He sat on a bench at an outside table with Naruto on the opposite side. Naruto had his eyes closed and a look of complete confusion. With a sigh, Shikamaru rested back and looked up to the clouds. After a moment he looked back at his new partner and said, "Look, I'm only going to explain this once more, so listen very carefully."

Naruto nodded and sat in a serious position, hands on his lap.

"Our first clue is the fact that Gai's team is involved," Shika began, slowly this time. "This type of assignment should be beneath them because they're not rookies like the rest of us, right?" After seeing Naruto's nod, Shikamaru began again.

"Secondly, did you notice how Asuma-sensei wrote our names on the board? He wrote them in complete order even though he didn't bother looking at our balls." Naruto snickered. "Ch- I mean our numbers! Focus!" Shika hung his head and blushed a little bit at the mistake of his words. "G'uh, talking to you is too troublesome."

"Gomen, gomen," Naruto apologized, holding down laughter. "Go on."

"Our final clue is how the selection process went. Why go through so much trouble to keep the numbers a secret? It's probably because chakra wasn't being used to hide the numbers, but rather genjutsu was used to make us believe the numbers were there. The ba- er, ballots were probably plain white and none of the genins with weird eyes were using their abilities to exam them, ne?"

"I get it," Naruto said firmly, hitting his hand with the other.

Shika's eyes widened with shock. He actually smiled. "Really?"

"Not at all!" Naruto admitted. Shikamaru's head fell forward, hitting the table.

---

Shino stood in an open field, surrounded by forest except for a clear path that led to a main street. He turned to look upon Shikamaru and Naruto. By their leisurely walk, he knew why they were a few minutes late. Though to be fair, Naruto was in the lead, yelling for the other to hurry up.

Opening his eyes at the site of Shino, Naruto stood in place until Shika caught up. He leaned over and whispered, "Oi, oi. Should we be careful? He looks really strange."

"Look who's talking about strange," Shika said with half a smirk. "How do you not bump into things, walking with your eyes like that?"

"You two should've been here ten minutes ago," Shino said calmly. "I don't think Gai-sensei is the type to forgive tardiness." He saw Naruto open his mouth but pause as a bug crawled from out of Shino's nose, scamper across one of his cheeks and then burrow back in through an ear. Naruto's mouth stayed open but words refused to come out.

Shikamaru caught himself staring and shrugged while adverting his gaze. "Running is a pain in the ass," he said flatly. "Besides, it looks like we're here first. I won't say anything if you don't."

"But what would I say!?"

The three turned around to see that they were ambushed by....a tortoise!? Suddenly, a huge tortoise came walking towards them from the forest. His eyes glared at the two nins with more than apparent shock on their faces and Shino whose features were a bit harder to make out.

"It looks like you two are having trouble taking this new mission seriously," the tortoise said in a gruff tone. Instead of replying, Naruto and Shikamaru just stood there, stunned that they were being chewed out by... this thing. "Can't talk, eh? I can tell by your faces that intelligence isn't a strong point between either of you! Gai-sensei, you're going to have to be blunt with this group!"

After that, a burst of smoke appeared upon the tortoise's back. As it cleared, there stood a smiling Gai in his crane stance, one foot upon the creature's back. "These children are at the epitome of adolescence, surely we can expect them to make a few mistakes, right?" Gai asked with a chuckle. He stood calmly and then placed a hand to his chin, thinking it over. "Yet that doesn't mean that we shouldn't let them learn from these mistakes...I think two-hundred pushups should do it."

Naruto and Shikamaru's jaws nearly fell off their heads. Naruto was about to complain when the tortoise said, "Wait, that's not necessary, Gai-sensei." The genins were about to bow and praise the animal for his kindness until he added, "The one with the shades was here on time, make sure to punish just those other two."

"Damn turtle!!" Naruto yelled, middle finger extended.

"Frankly, two-hundred push-ups is a joke. Are you getting soft?"

"I'll kill you!!" Naruto screamed, squirming while being held back by Shikamaru.

"Tch, nothing good comes from doing such things," Shika said, pissed off that he was the one who had to hold on to the noisy kid. "Don't be such a bother..."

Gai laughed out loud before dispelling his summon. "That's enough of that. And don't worry about the push-ups." Naruto smiled. "That can wait until later." Naruto hung his head, defeated.

"Now let's see..." Gai looked at all of his students. His attention especially on Naruto aka Kakashi's pupil aka Gai's new target for torture. He couldn't help but smile.

At this site, Naruto felt very uncomfortable. He nudged Shikamaru with his elbow and whispered, "Why is Super Thick Eyebrows looking at me like that?"

Shikamaru lazily shrugged and replied, "How should I know?" With a smirk he added, "Maybe he likes you."

Naruto frowned before Gai's finger was shot in his direction. "While spending the next month as my new team, you'll all be trained in ways you never thought existed!" he declared proudly. "You will sweat, bleed, and shed tears before this is done! But you'll all leave her stronger than you are now....or in an ambulance. Let's hope for the first option, eh?" Gai chuckled again yet none of his pupils felt like joining in.

"Aww, man" Shikamaru began, "was that supposed to be a pep talk?"

"Shino of the Aburame Clan?" Gai said, causing the genin to raise an eyebrow. "You're moves depend on the use of those bugs within your body, correct?" After Shino nodded, Gai turned his attention to another. "Nara Shikamaru, you prefer shadow manipulation?"

"Hai, hai," Shika said, not surprised the jounin teacher already knew this.

"And Uzumaki Naruto who has somehow learned the-"

"Wait a minute!" Naruto said with a big grin. "Let me show you!" Eager to impress, Naruto put his hands together to form the seal and soon after, a puff of smoke erupted. Shikamaru and Shino were taken back at what they saw when the smoke cleared. There stood a nude woman winking at them and making seductive sighs. "Hee hee, I call this Sexy no Jutsu!"

Catching himself staring, Shino turned away in the hopes no one else saw. He shrugged it off and said, "What a pointless jutsu..." This jogged Shikamaru back to reality and he quickly checked his nose for blood before rubbing his shoulder and regaining his lazy composure.

Poofing back to his normal body, Naruto scratched his brow and asked, "Why didn't it work on you...?"

With a twitch of the eyebrow and a sweat drop, Gai asked, "Who would be perverted enough to actually fall for such a move?"

---

Across the village, Konohamaru was doing sit ups under the watchful eye of his personal instructor, Ebisu who suddenly sneezed. The same went for Iruka at his desk. A third person elsewhere, sneezed and a concerned assistant said, "Bless you, Hokage-sama."

---

After Gai finished telling his new pupils what was expected of them, scaring them even more while doing so, he left to train Shino while Shikamaru and Naruto were left to do their push-ups. Naruto had started quickly at first, wanting to show everyone his determination and muttering to himself, "Chik'sho...I'll show him! I'll do all these stupid push-ups, master his stupid training, become Hokage and rub it in his face! Heh heh, and that dumb turtle will have to kiss my ass.." Though he started off like that, he was now slowing down, straining with each movement.

"N-n-ninety....two," Naruto panted while his arms ached.

"T-t...." Shikamaru said, mimicking Naruto, "t-t-twelve!"

"What!?" Naruto yelled, sitting up right. "All this time and you've only did twelve!?"

"I don't see why you're so surprised," the lazy one said, sitting with his legs extended. "If we need to do two-hundred then why bother rushing it?"

"Rushing is the whole point of the exercise!"

"You do things your way and I'll do things mine," Shika said before lying back on the grass and staring up at the clouds. "Besides, do you want to end up like one of his workaholic students?"

Naruto then imagined himself in a green and orange outfit just like Lee and yelling things like, 'Yosh! Gai-sensei! Please lift your foot so I may kiss the very ground in which they have honored with its magnificent touch! Gai-sama, hug me!!' Naruto let a scream slip for a second before shaking the image out of his head violently.

"What are you doing now?" Naruto asked, eyes closed as usual.

"Taking a break...I'll do more later."

"..." Naruto found himself lost for words. But it was true, there was nobody around so why bother? It wasn't Naruto's habit to take training so lightly but nobody was around so there was no one to object to a quick rest. Yeah, he'll probably need it for the rest of Gai's insane training too! So in a way this was like preparation.

---

A while passed and Naruto's break went without a hitch. Except for a fly or some insect that wouldn't leave him alone towards the end. He had enough when the bug went into his eye and sprung to his feet, determined to make the pest regret annoying the future Hokage for the rest of its soon-to-be-shortened life. But to his surprise, there stood an exhausted Shino and an angry Gai staring at him.

Finding himself incapable of thinking up an excuse, he turned to Shikamaru who got him into this mess. Yet when he looked to the side, Shika's body had disappeared from its resting spot. "What? Where's-"

"Shikamaru's with us," Gai said, pointing his head in the direction where Shikamaru stood behind Shino. "He told us how he finished his push ups and came to join us. It looks like you, on the other hand, aren't as dedicated."

"What!?!?" Naruto screamed. "There's no way he finished two-hundred push ups before me!! He's the laziest one in this village!"

"They say slow and steady wins the race," Shino said, wiping sweat from his brow, his panting slowing down.

"I guess I just take my new teacher more seriously," Shikamaru said with another smirk.

"I don't blame you," Gai said. "You've probably inherited an easy going nature like your hip teacher, Kakashi."

"Does that mean you'll let me off?" Naruto asked with a weak smile.

"Of course not," Gai said firmly.

Naruto sighed. "How many push-ups?"

"No, I had something else in mind," Gai replied, this time grinning so his teeth sparkled.

---

"Dammit....dammit...dammit...." Naruto yelled from behind Shino and Shikamaru as they were all walking home.

"I tried to warn you that he was on his way," Shino said. "I sent a bug to tip you two off."

"How the hell am I supposed to know that!?" Naruto's voice strained.

"I got the message," Shikamaru said. "But I guess we can't expect a super baka like you to under-

"Why didn't you tip me off!?" Naruto interrupted.

Shikamaru looked back and told him: "I don't remember owing you any favors. Besides, you should have put two and two together. It was probably a scouting bug that told him the turtle was around in the morning and to hurry to make it on time."

"That is correct," Shino said.

"Dammit...." Naruto said, clawing at the ground to move himself forward while dragging his legs behind him. Gai had made him wear the weights around his legs that made it impossible for Naruto to walk. "I'll remember this, bastard..."

"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru yawned, "Damn, you're noisy...What a troublesome team member."

Shino glanced slightly at Shikamaru, then turned away again. The three then went their own ways to their respective houses, leaving Naruto lying motionless on the floor.

To be continued...

---

Author's notes: Up next, Kurenai's team! I know quite a few of you have been waiting for this and now...you'll have to wait a little bit longer. It's coming though! Hopefully much sooner than this one did.


	6. An Impossible Task! Two Hyugas and an Ak...

Split and Strike by DoomaWriter

Author's notes: Sorry for the wait everybody....again! Hopefully this wont become a habit.... anymore. Here's the chapter I'm sure many have been waiting for. The one starring the super popular character: Kurenai! Oh and there's also those genins, I guess. (Just kidding. I know barely anyone is here for the Kurenai factor.)

---

Chapter 6: An Impossible Task! Two Hyugas and an Akimichi.

---

Neji sat up in his bed as light began to slowly pour into his house. That morning, he had been uncommonly slow at getting up. Sitting there he remembered the day the new teams were announced, especially his little chat afterwards.

---

Yesterday afternoon, Kakashi-sensei had just finished his conclusion allowing all of the genins to leave. As he left the door, Neji looked back and spotted Choji walking up to him with a stupid smile on his greasy face and a chips bag in his hand. Taking that as his cue to get far away, Neji ran off and disappeared from that place.

As he walked toward his home, Neji sensed a presence behind him. "Listen," he said without turning around. "Though we may be forced to work together for a while, I'd rather not see your tubby face if I don't have to."

"Well, is that how you speak to ladies?"

Turning around, Neji spotted his new teacher with a disgruntled look. "Kurenai-sensei.... Sorry." The phrase was more of a sign of respect than an apology. "Why are you following me?"

"It's about you being on the same team as Hinata." As soon as Kurenai said those words, Neji regained his usual pissed-off look and turned around. "I'm not done speaking with you, Neji!"

"I know what you have to say," Neji said with his back to his new teacher. "You want me to put aside my stupid, petty anger and try to get along with sweet Hinata-sama, correct?"

"That sounds about right," Kurenai said. "I'd like to go a day with you two around each other and nobody dies."

"So I just have to hold back for one day?" Neji asked. "Then all bets are off? Because that's what I'm hearing."

"No!" Kurenai replied. "I don't want you hurting Hinata for whatever trivial reason-"

"Trivial!?" Neji yelled. After that he jumped to a nearby rooftop. "Don't worry..." he began, "Angry Neji won't kill precious Hinata-sama." After that, he hopped from rooftop to another, escaping his teacher.

---

"Trivial!?" Neji said out loud as he looked into the mirror, focusing on the symbol upon his forehead. He put on his protector and tied it in the back. "The hell does she know...?"

---

Later that day, Neji sat on a bench uncomfortably near Choji. Of course anywhere in a three block radius would've been uncomfortably near for Neji. Neji tried to remain calm with his eyes closed and arms crossed as his new teammate munched loudly on chips. With each chomp Neji flinched a bit and grew angrier.

Finally, Choji had finished his bag and Neji let out a sigh of relief. After licking his fingers clean, Choji looked between Neji beside him and Kurenai-sensei standing in front. Knowing that they were both waiting for Hinata to come, Choji thought he'd better find a good way to pass the time. So he reached into his pouch and picked up another bag of chips, opened it and crunched the first one.

"Where the hell is she!?" Neji yelled. After seeing the other two look at him as if they had spotted a ghost, Neji quickly regain his composure and resumed waiting.

Kurenai couldn't really blame Hinata for being late. It'd be hard for her to show up knowing Neji was waiting. Maybe that's it. Maybe she wasn't going to show. With a depressed look, Kurenai figured she might as well start without the third member. "For our first mission-"

"Please, wait!" a familiar voice pleaded.

Choji looked on and Kurenai smiled at the sight of Hinata running up to the group. Neji opened one eye to look at her before quickly closing it again.

"G-gomen," Hinata apologized with a slight bow.

"It's okay," Kurenai said comfortingly.

"Yes, Hinata-sama can do no wrong," Neji said under his breath. Hinata frowned but Kurenai chose to ignore the comment and begin her announcement.

"Hinata, please take a seat and I'll begin."

The female Hyuga agreed and looked toward the bench. She hesitated when she saw Neji sitting on the far left and Choji in the middle of the rest of the space. "Um...can you please move over?" Hinata asked politely. Choji gladly agreed and moved to the far right, leaving the middle free for Hinata.

"Uh...." Hinata began shyly as she saw the space next to Neji, "I meant...the other way."

---

With the three genins sitting on the bench – Choji separating the Hyugas – Kurenai told them of their first assignment. "For today, you will all do a very difficult mission. As a matter of fact, I'd say this would be classified as an A-rank mission." 

Hinata gave a worried look while Neji simultaneously smirked. Choji reacted by dropping his chips bag. Then again, the bag was empty.

"Though it will be difficult, I have full confidence that this team can handle this mission." Kurenai held up three fingers and continued. "For thirty minutes, you three will have to engage in a conversation."

The three genins nearly fell out of their seats. "Tch," Neji scoffed. "This is an A-rank mission?"

"Prove me wrong then," Kurenai said with a smirk of her own. "Say something to Hinata right now."

"Fine," Neji replied confidently.

"And it can't be an insult."

Neji stopped in his tracks. Defeated, he refolded his hands and looked off to the side.

"I thought so," Kurenai continued. "I want you to all find out each other's likes, dislikes, hobbies and so forth. I know it'll be easier without an adult listening to your every word so begin after I leave. Though when I return, I expect for everyone to be here in one peace..." she turned to Neji and added: "...and for nobody to be mentally attacked by the aid of the Byakugan."

"I wonder whom that last rule applies to," Neji said sarcastically. Kurenai frowned at him one last time before disappearing from her spot.

---

Time passed and not a word was uttered from any of the three. Every now and then one would look at another but quickly turn away if their eyes met. Each of them began to worry and think about the inevitable failure.

'I can't talk to Neji-niisan,' Hinata thought. 'He's probably itching for a reason to fight me.'

'I can't talk to Hinata-sama,' Neji thought. 'Just being in her presence makes me itch for a reason to fight her. Not only that, but I have nothing to say toward that fat weakling who won't stop eating those damned chips!! Calm down, Neji. Think of something calming.... like beating Lee for the hundredth time. Heh heh...He'll never learn...'

'I can't talk to those two.' Choji thought. 'I'm too busy eating. I'm so hungry.... Why did I skip brunch this morning?'

'At this rate, I'll fail,' Hinata thought. 'No! I can do this! Just remember those words: I'm smart enough, I'm good enough, and doggonit people like me!'

"S-say...Neji-niisan..." Hinata weakly began. When she saw her cousin look toward her she swallowed and forced herself to press on. "S-so.... Anything interesting happen lately?"

As Neji looked at her, a scream could be heard from far away. "The big-head ones wont stop dancing! Make them stop!! Give me back my eyes, dammit!!"

"No, nothing worth mentioning," Neji said calmly.

"Oh," Hinata said. The three sat quietly once again. 'That wasn't so bad.' Hinata thought to herself. 'Maybe this can work after all.'

"Uh, Choji-san..." Hinata started again. "What are your hobbies?"

"It's easy to tell," Neji interrupted. "Let me guess, could it be eating, more eating, and buying more food for which to eat?"

Choji stopped consuming his food and glared toward Neji. After a while of locking eyes, the young Akimichi said, with a very serious tone, "That's right! How did you know? Those creepy eyes must see a lot." With that, Choji picked up his eating pace once again.

"It doesn't take a Hyuga to see you can't stop eating, Chubby." Just as Neji said his last word, his target had just crunched another chip and had heard the word "Choji" instead.

"So, what do you like to do?" Choji said in between chews, getting into the conversational mood.

'You mean besides staying as far away from you?' Neji thought to himself. "I like to train with a dummy. However, when Lee's not around, I use a stuffed one."

At that moment Tenten was jogging past the area and giggled at the joke. Lee ran up to her and asked what was so funny but didn't get an answer.

"What type of training dummy do you use?" Hinata asked, happy to be able to talk to her cousin without any anger between the two.

"I use one roughly this big," Neji said, raising his hand to a level precisely as high as Hinata.

After seeing this, Hinata quickly grew silent again.

"What about you?" Choji asked Hinata. "What do you like?"

With her index fingers touching, Hinata began to blush. "W-what do I like? Well ... I enjoy watching....somebody that I admire..."

"You mean like stalking?" Choji asked innocently.

The female Hyuga sat in shock. Could what she was doing be considered stalking? 'Sure I watch Naruto-kun without him knowing I'm there but – oh, who am I kidding?'

After that, Hinata didn't mutter a word or move an inch. Choji waved a messy hand in front of her face but she still remained still.

"What about you?" Neji forced himself to ask. "You...notice anything interesting lately?"

Choji thought hard while behind him a frantic Sasuke ran by while being hounded by Ino and Sakura. "Oh! They came out with a new kind of chips I've been meaning to try. Maybe you can tell me how they tas-"

"Fascinating," Neji interrupted before getting up and walking away. "Who are we kidding? This mission was doomed to fail from the start."

To be continued...

---

Author's notes: Wow, that was a long first day eh? (For anyone confused on the screaming in the background, refer back to the third chapter please). More genin action in the next chapter!


	7. The First Day Off! Can the Genins Ever

Split and Strike

by DoomaWriter

Author's notes: Just as a quick note, this story doesn't take place anywhere that'd fit on the Naruto timeline. However, if you need a spot, think of the Chunnin Exams except nobody's in traction. Once again, sorry for the wait, and thanks for all the reviews!

---

Chapter 7: The First Day Off! Can the Genins Ever Find Peace?

---

Sakura walked slowly down the street today in Konoha. All the genins had the day off and she was on her way to Sasuke's house. She had no clue what she'd say when she got there but she felt that she just had to see him again. Many topics popped into her head but there was nothing she could think of that'd make the conversation last more than ten seconds. Sasuke wasn't the easiest person to converse with.

To her surprise, the Uchiha lad was walking in her direction. To an even greater surprise was that he stopped in front of her and began to speak first. "Oi, Sakura," he began.

With a smile she greeted: "Ah, Sasuke-kun. Ohayo."

"Mmm," Sasuke acknowledged. "I need to ask you something."

"A-anything! What is it?"

"Which way is it to Ino's house?" Sasuke asked bluntly.

Sakura stood there smiling for a while before finally asking, "Excuse me?"

"I need to see Ino," Sasuke repeated. "You know where she lives, right?"

"What?" Inner Sakura screamed. "Why the hell would Sasuke ask about Ino-pig when he has the fricken cute Sakura-chan right in front of him?"

"Uh, I can show her where you live," Sakura said with a weak smile, "the next time I see her, that is."

"Which'll be a surprisingly long time!" Inner Sakura added.

Sasuke tensed up and firmly said: "No! It's crucial that I know where she lives. I need to see her now."

"You're seeing me right now! This is pissing me off! Shaannarooooo!"

Against her will, Sakura pointed in the direction of Ino's house and gave him the directions. "Um…" she hesitated. "Why do you need to know where she lives, Sasuke-kun?"

While walking off in the direction shown to him, Sasuke said without turning around, "Its nothing you need to be concerned with. Bye."

Well, that was that wasn't it? The conversation wasn't as friendly as she hoped but she did get to see him. So now it was only right for Sakura to do the healthy thing…and follow him. She had to sneak around and listen to every word Sasuke would mutter to Ino-pig…at all costs!

---

"Oi, oi, Lee. Shouldn't you calm down now?" Tenten said while resting her chin in her right palm and spinning a kunai in her left. She had watched Lee do over sixty pushups with one hand and he showed no sign of stopping.

"No way!" Lee answered strongly. "I must prepare for our future missions. I'm sure Asuma-sensei will only make our tasks harder." After his eightieth push up he asked, "Shouldn't you practice hard too?"

"Tch, I doubt it," Tenten said, closing her eyes. "It's not like he'll notice me. When we all left for home, he stopped me and said he'll have to take off points because I just arrived. Then he called me Eleven-eleven!"

"Just work harder and you'll definitely stand out. I can't walk down the street without everybody noticing me! That's just the fruits of my hard work."

"I don't think that's quite it," Tenten muttered under her breathe.

"What's that?" Lee asked honestly.

"Nothing, nothing," Tenten answered. She waited a while before adding, "Nice outfit."

"Thanks," Lee said while doing pushups. He paused and thought to himself for a moment, shook his head, and then went back to his pushups.

---

A big smile appeared on Shikamaru's face. "You understand!" He asked hopefully. "You're not just saying it?"

"Of course not," Chouji replied. "You explained it so clearly."

Shikamaru relaxed on his side of the bench and said, "Well, I've had a lot of practice. I'm glad I could talk to someone with actual brains for brains."

"So the teams were picked beforehand," Chouji said as he opened his third bag of chips. "But why? Do our abilities compliment each other better this way or something?"

Shikamaru sat for a while and thought about his two new partners. He pictured the image of Naruto drooling while Shino spat out bugs on top of Shikamaru's head. "I doubt that. It's closer to the opposite."

"Even so, why go through the trouble of hiding it from us?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," Shikamaru confessed while staring up at the clouds overhead. "Either way we can't do anything about it now."

Chouji bit into another chip and added, "Why not tell this to your other team mate? Shino?"

"Have you ever tried talking to that guy?" Shikamaru asked. "It's too bothersome. You can't stand near him without feeling something crawling on your skin. I was brushing my arms all of last night."

Chouji laughed and Shikamaru joined him. Neither was sure if they were even allowed to talk to each other until the month was over but then again, neither cared.

---

Peering at the door, Sasuke stood in front of Ino's house for a minute or two before moving his hand up to knock. His fist paused in the air. The Uchiha knew what the circumstances of knocking were but what had to be done had to be done…..or had it? His face showed an unwavering calmness but his hand wasn't coming any closer to knocking.

"Why is he so nervous?" Sakura asked while looking on. She peeked at Sasuke from behind a wall. Other passersby stared at her as they walked along their way. Suddenly, Sakura's eyes widened and her brow began to sweat. "What if this could be…it can't be…a…confession?"

Had Sasuke made a choice and came to confess his love for that Ino-pig? Unthinkable! Then again, has Sasuke ever told Ino that she was annoying? But on the other hand-

"Oi! Sakura-chan!"

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard the loud voice, and Sasuke beginning to turn his head toward her. Quickly, she ducked her head behind the wall and turned to see Naruto waving toward her with a bag of groceries in his other hand. Cups of ramen could be seen sticking out of the top.

"What are you doing, Sakura-chan?" he asked rather loudly. His pink-haired friend moved hectically as he continued. "Pretty strange to be waiting like that! Or is it that some kid roped you into playing hide and seek? I guess I should be quieter, ne?" Despite saying this, he began to laugh louder and louder.

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed. "I thought I was being followed. In that case…" The hand rapped on the door and Ino opened it with a popsicle in her mouth. "Mind if I come in?" Sasuke said. "We need to talk." The popsicle dropped to the floor and Sasuke found himself yanked within.

Checking that the ropes were tight and the gag was in place, Sakura dusted off her hands and left the tied up Naruto to squirm. She peered back to see a popsicle melting where Sasuke once stood.

Defeated, Sakura sighed and with a gloomy expression, dragged herself home. She had obviously forgotten Naruto and his muffled, teary-eyed pleas. He stopped moving and rested on the floor before being encased by somebody's shadow. Looking upward, he saw Shino. The two stared up at each other without saying a word as the wind blew by. Finally, Shino asked: "These things happen to you often?"

"Poor Naruto-kun," Hinata said while watching from behind a building a block away. Feeling the air suddenly getting cold, she turned around to see Neji looking at her.

The older Hyuga merely said, "Get a new hobby." Afterward, he turned and walked off.

To be continued…

---

Author's notes: Did one of your favorite characters get left out? I couldn't fit all twelve in this time but in the future, the nins I've missed or gave little time to will get their shot.


End file.
